KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court has allowed an application by the government and five others to decide on a suit against the existence of vernacular schools without calling witnesses.
Judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali said there was no need for oral evidence.
Lawyer T Gunaseelan said Nazlan, after a virtual proceeding, was of the view that it was sufficient to argue the matter on law based on public documents and other records.
“The judge fixed an open court hearing on Nov 23 but strict SOPs will be observed as it is a public interest issue,” said Gunaseelan, who appeared with Bastian Pius Vendargon.
Both counsel represented the Malaysian Chinese Language Council, the Malaysia Tamil Neri Kalagam and the Gabungan Persatuan Pelajar Tamil Malaysia.
The others were the government, the Confederation of Chinese School Teachers Association (Jiao Zong) and the Federation of Chinese School Association Management Board (Dong Zong).
All the respondents filed applications under Order 14A of the High Court Rules to dispose of the case without a trial.
Under Order 14A, the court can determine a dispute on points of law without having to call for witnesses.
The plaintiffs, the Association of Peninsular Malaysia Students and the Islamic Educational Development Council, who opposed the applications, were represented by Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla.
They had named Putrajaya and the education ministry as defendants in their suit against vernacular schools.
Eleven others were included as they are deemed interested parties.
They are seeking a declaration that Sections 2, 17 and 28 of the Education Act 1996, and the extent to which they provide for the establishment of vernacular schools using Chinese and Tamil as the main languages, are inconsistent with Article 152(1) of the Federal Constitution and are considered null and void. - FMT
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